Heat Big 3 push themselves

Chris Bosh was fined $5,000 for flopping in Game 4. He also finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Chris Bosh was fined $5,000 for flopping in Game 4. He also...

After careful video-footage examination of Chris Bosh — and repeatedly watching him fall back and to the right, back and to the right — NBA officials determined Tim Duncan didn't shove Miami's starting center Thursday night.

But someone sure did.

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade received a couple of nudges, too. And while there might be all kinds of theories about why the Heat's three stars finally were goaded into action in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, the reality is that their domination started the same way Bosh's flop did.

By pushing themselves.

“It's just the disposition,” Bosh said when asked why he played so much better in the Heat's 109-93 victory than he had earlier in the series. “I always believe that if I bring the necessary energy, things will go well.”

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As simply as that, the Heat evened the series and showed why they were the Finals favorites to begin with. They made a minor lineup change but didn't require any dramatic adjustments. They didn't need Mario Chalmers to go crazy, or Mike Miller to stay perfect.

All they needed was for James to be James, Wade to be Wade and Bosh to be Bosh. Before Thursday, that trio averaged 43 points and 22 rebounds per game in the Finals. In Game 4, they combined for 85 points and 30 rebounds.

“When the three of us are clicking at the same time,” James said, “we're a very tough team to beat.”

For much of this postseason, though, those three players have been operating with the luxury of knowing they don't have to all click to survive. Thursday was the sixth time the Heat have played a game following a playoff loss. They've won all six by an average margin of more than 20 points.

James, who by far had his best game of the Finals with 33 points, 11 rebounds and four assists Thursday, said there's a reason he hasn't panicked or overreacted to subpar performances.

“I'm blessed to have, I guess, a next day,” James said. “And it's not saying I'm taking the game for granted. I just know there's a tomorrow.”

And Bosh, who scored 20 points to go with 13 rebounds in Game 4, said James' teammates didn't allow him to put the entire responsibility of winning on his shoulders.

“It's a fine science to that stuff,” said Bosh, who was fined $5,000 for his flop against Duncan. “Of course, everybody is individually going to say, 'I have to do better.' But of course, we're not going to leave him on the island.”

The problem for the Heat is that recently they've only made that approach work when they're feeling some desperation. After each of their five playoff victories before Thursday, they've let down and suffered a loss.

Even though they've regained home-court advantage and can win a second consecutive championship by winning Games 6 and 7 at home, coach Erik Spoelstra said they can't rely on that and relax in Game 5 on Sunday.

“There has to be a point where enough is enough,” Spoelstra said. “And we have to try to fight for a breakthrough.”

In the meantime, they have to guard against the feeling that they're in control again.

“That's the beauty of NBA playoff basketball — the hyperbole,” Heat forward Shane Battier said. “There's not a more hyperbolic situation in sports. When you win, you have it all figured out. If you lose, scrap everything, go back to the drawing board, it's terrible. It's the way it is. If you're in the know, you know it's about staying the course and just being yourself.”